Shrouded in Shadows: Secrets of the Ten
by Born of Avalon
Summary: Very AU yaoiChapter 3 Marik delivers Dartz’s message and things begin to fall apart. Also, Seto discovers a disturbing secret, reveling what Keith is really doing at the Castle. And then we also have the prisoner...
1. Puppets of the Master

All right, I know I shouldn't be starting another story right now, but this one was blocking all my ideas for the other ones. I should be able to update my other stories soon but I can't make any promises.

This is my first Yu-Gi-Oh fic so please take it easy on me. The first chapter may not be too good but i'm hoping the rest will turn out better so just give me some time. Oh, also, the special children were be refured to as the special children or children through the story. I haven't given them another name, so I'm just leaving it at that.

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Warning: This story is very AU. It also contains male/male relationships. If you have a problem with that then don't read.

Major pairing: Yami/Ryou

Minor pairings: Malik/Yugi, Marik/Bakura, Seto/Jonouchi, and maybe (note the word maybe) Mokuba/Shizkua (If anyone wants this pairing please let me know)

Summary: Very AU yaoi Welcome to Domino, where every 500 years ten children are born with special powers. Parents try to hide their children for the government wants to use them for their own purposes. Yugi, Mokuba, Ryou, and the others are soon about to find out the horrible truth about what the government wants from them.

Powers:

Mokuba: able to breath under water.

Seto: freeze, slow down, speed up, go back or forward in time.

Jonouchi: telekinesis, also able to fly.

Shizuka: transformation

Yami: super strength

Yugi: clairvoyance/foresight (able to see the future)

Ryou: mind control, telepath, and healing powers

Bakura: super speed

Malik: transportation

Marik: elementlist

Shrouded in Shadows: Secrets of the Ten

Chapter 1

Puppets of the Master

_July 1, 1476_

_I have decided to record the events that lead to this. Even though most of my memories are full of grief I think everyone should know what really happened to us. Why we are fighting even now to save two of our friends when it seems hopeless. But mainly, I'm writing this so that the ten of us never forget what happened to us, and what _that_ man did in his pursuit of power. _

_My name is Mokuba. I am one of the ten children born once every five hundred years in this city called Domino. Dartz had ordered that as soon as someone knew their children were special then they must hand over their children to the government. But, our parents hid us. We didn't know why. Dartz had said that we would be treated as kings and queens, and that our parents would be able to visit us whenever they wanted. We would never have to worry about anything. But, those were all lies. _

_When Dartz discovered that my brother, Seto, and I had powers, he had his guards storm into our home. They killed our parents in front of our eyes before dragging us off to Dartz's castle. We were separated from the outside world. The only people we knew were the guards, servants, and Dartz's himself, and we weren't allowed to speak to the guards or servants. _

_As more time passed, more of the children were brought in until all ten of us were held captive in Dartz's palace, never being allowed to step into the world we had come from. Dartz's made sure we trained in how to use our powers. He wanted us to become as strong as possible. My brother and Yami were the first to become suspicious of his motives, and the rest of us as well. We didn't trust him like he said we should, in fact we all hated him, even innocent Ryou and Yugi hated him._

_But, we didn't really care what Dartz did, at least Yugi, Ryou, Malik, Shizuko, and myself didn't care. Our older brothers did though and they watched over us, never letting Dartz come close to us. Yami and Bakura were especially protective and I don't blame them. You could see it in Dartz's eyes, he wanted Yugi and Ryou, and at times I think he wanted Malik as well._

_Dartz put us through a lot but at least we had nine other people to count on. And yet Dartz was determined to take that away from us as well. He wanted to shape the world in his own fashion. He wanted a world where no one could oppose him and where he would be the strongest and wisest of all beings, but he needed us in order to do so. _

_And then the day came where he could finally make his dream reality. All of us had become stronger than Dartz had ever imagined. It was then that the purpose for the special children was reveled to us. Dartz had planned everything so perfectly that he thought he had us right where he wanted, and for a time we were indeed his puppets. But, Dartz had never gone up against my brother before, and Seto can outsmart anyone. We are still fighting now, but if Seto's plan works, then we'll be able to get rid of Dartz forever._

OOOOO

"Jonouchi! Don't do that!" Ryou yelled as Jonouchi flew away from him, the blonde laughing at Ryou.

Yugi, Malik, and Mokuba laughed at Ryou as well as he tried to fix his white hair. "It's not funny!" the albino yelled at the three, which only succeeded in making them laugh harder.

"Jonouchi mess up your hair again?" Bakura asked as he came up behind his little brother, a smirk on his face. Ryou glared at him before sticking his tongue out at him. "Very mature, Ryou," Bakura commented as he began playing with Ryou's hair.

"Like you're any more mature," Malik said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Bakura just turned and like Ryou had done before, stick his tongue out at Malik.

Jonouchi suddenly landed beside them. "Come on guys, we have to get to the front garden now."

"Why?" everyone asked at the same time.

"Because, it seems Dartz didn't say away for two weeks like he said he would."

"You mean he's back already?" Yugi asked surprised. Dartz was supposed to be gone on a trip to one of the southern cities for two weeks. Everyone had been glad to see him go not just the children. Everyone hated him, but they were just too afraid to do anything about him, so Dartz continued to rule, just as he had done for the past 10,000 years.

Bakura muttered something under his breath that sounded strangely like 'that son of a bitch' before dragging the rest of them off to the front garden. If he could, Bakura would have just skipped welcoming Dartz back, but he wasn't about to leave his little brother unguarded near that bastard any time soon.

The six of them made it to the front garden just as Dartz was stepping out of his carriage. Yami, Seto, and Shizuka were already there waiting for them. Dartz quickly looked them over, his eyes lingering on Yugi and Ryou, earning growls and death glares from Yami and Bakura. He ignored these, but he did notice that there were only nine children there.

"Ryou," he said sweetly walking up to the white haired boy. "Would you be so kind as to go find Marik for me?"

Ryou just stood there for a second. He didn't like the way Dartz was petting his cheek, or the way the man was looking at him. It unnerved him, but at least Bakura was beside him (even if he was admitting a powerful aura of anger). "Yes, my lord," Ryou finally whispered before bowing slightly to Dartz and disappearing back into the castle.

Ryou was glad to be away from Dartz, but he knew that Marik was going to be in trouble. Even if Marik was insane, the blonde Egyptian was still his friend, but Dartz seems to want to destroy everything they all loved, including each other.

Ryou remembered when he had first been brought to the castle with Bakura. He had only been five years old at the time, and didn't understand what was going on. He had been in the marketplace shopping with his mother. He didn't know that he was somehow controlling her mind, but everything he asked for he got, even if his mother truly didn't want to buy it. And then he'd heard them. Everyone, who was in the marketplace, all their thoughts hit him like a tidal wave. He had begun to cry, and had whispered to his mother what was wrong but Dartz's men knew instantly what he was, even though his mother tried to hide it. They had killed her right in front of him and dragged him away, where at the castle he was reunited with Bakura, who as they found out, had outrun all of the soldiers horse at an incredible speed when he had been caught stealing something from a jeweler.

The had been the third pair of siblings to arrive at the castle, and as they soon found out, all the children were siblings as well. Each special child's powers would not awake until their bother's or sister's did as well. That had always been the way of it, and that would always be how it was.

The albino teen found Marik taking a nap in his room. "Marik, time to get up," Ryou said trying to shake the Egyptian awake, but to avail. "I don't have time for this," Ryou whispered after a few minutes, knowing that Marik wasn't going to get up unless he wanted to. _:Marik get up:_ Ryou yelled telepathically into his mind. Marik instantly shot up out of bed.

"Damn it Ryou, you know I hate it when you do that," Marik said yawning. "Why'd you wake me up anyway?"

"Dartz's is back. You're supposed to be down in the front gardens now."

"What!" Marik shouted jumping out of bed. "He's not suppose to be back for another week! Why's the bastard back now!" Marik was about to storm out of the room before Ryou stopped him.

"Marik, don't you think you should change?"

Marik looked down to see that he was still in his pajamas. "Opps."

OOOOO

When Ryou and Marik finally got back Dartz let his eyes rest on the blonde. He hated Marik, more than any of the others, he hated Marik. He hated Yami, Bakura, Seto, and Jonouchi as well, but he really hated Marik. The guy was always getting into trouble or being lazy and yet his powers were some of the more advanced ones. Dart didn't understand it, and it hated what he didn't understand.

He moved swiftly toward Marik before his raising his hand and slapping Marik across the face. "You will come to my chambers this evening when I summon you. I will have your punishment ready then," Dartz whispered to him in a dangerous growl. He glared at Marik, but the Egyptian just glared right back.

Dartz finally turned away and after a nice little speech about how much he had missed them and how much they meant to him, Dartz left, which they were all thankful for. They knew he wasn't lying. Dartz did miss then and did care about them, because without them, he was powerless.

Ryou walked over to Marik and healed the bruise that was forming on his cheek. Ryou smiled sweetly at him before Marik jokingly expressed his thanks and pretended to ask Ryou to marry him. Both Yami and Bakura hit him for that one. Bakura was overprotective of Ryou no matter who it was, and everyone knew that Yami and Ryou were a couple.

Mokuba, Shizuka, Malik, and Yugi all ran off as they began to play another game closely followed by Jonouchi. He was still really a kid at heart even though he'd been forced to grow up really fast seeing as his mother died when he was a kid and his father wasted their money on booze every night. Bakura, Marik, and Seto who were making sure that nothing happened to their little brothers followed them. Nothing ever had, but still, they didn't want Dartz or the guards anywhere near them.

"Come on," Yami whispered as he pulled Ryou in the opposite direction. No one questioned it. They two slipped off a lot together, and though Bakura wasn't happy about it, he let it go because it made Ryou happy.

When they were finally in a secluded area Yami leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Ryou's lips which was quickly returned. They couldn't let anyone but the other children know, because if Dartz ever found out he would punish them and he'd make sure they wouldn't even see each other anymore. Neither wanted to lose the other, and they were willing to do almost anything to stay together. But, if Dartz found out he'd probably want them to kill one of the other children as punishment or even each other.

So, they kept quiet, the trees and birds the only witnesses to their feelings for each other. But, this time it was different. Someone else was watching the two and he was not pleased, especially when he heard Yami say those three little words to Ryou and Ryou say them back.

No, Dartz was not pleased at all.

OOOOO

And there is chapter 1. Hope you guys liked it. I'll try to update as soon as possible. If you want the next chapter though you have to review and tell me what you think of my first Yu-Gi-Oh fic. Hope I didn't bored anyone out of their minds, and I hope no one thinks this was a waste of time. Oh, and if anyone's going to flame me for this being yaoi, you were warned so don't complain about it.


	2. Pain and Punishment

Wow...I can't believe so many people liked this story. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I will now live longer thanks to you. Also, I might write a side story for the next chapter if enough people review. At least seven people have to review for the side story.

NOTE: All right, if anyone thinks that the rating for this story should go up after this chapter then tell me immediately and I'll change it as soon as possible.

Response to Reviews:

Ayako Kadori: My first reviewer:hugs: Thanks so much.

Jee Hye: I'm really glad you love this. Hope I don't scare you away with the new chapter. Enjoy.

DreamCherry66:

Petit Angel: Hope you like the update.

Dark Angel Lytha: I'll be updating my Dragon Knights stories as soon as possible, but I hope you like this chapter as well. Enjoy.

Thunderstorm101: Enjoy the new chapter. Hope you had fun at camp.

wisdom: NO! Don't die, I'm updating see? Though, the suspense might start killing you at the end of this chapter, all depending on where I decide to end.

UnknownDarkMystery: Intriguing? Really? Thanks, that really made my day. Hope you like this chapter as well.

Keeper of the Times: Hope I updated soon enough for you. Thanks for the review. Yeah, Yami/Ryou is a bit weird but I just love those two together!

SilverRayne: Thanks. Glad you liked the pairing. I was worried people would hate it.

Elle-Fatex-: Here's the update, hope you like it.

MoonMagician: Update's finally here! Sorry it took so long. Hope you like.

Ryou Lover 4325:

Emmy: YES! Yami/Ryou 4ever!

Raven: Sorry, never read Charlie Bone. It never really interested me that much, but then maybe I'm just judging a book by its cover.

I think that's the most I've ever typed for reviews. Well anyways, now we can get on with the story.

Chapter Summary: Marik is punished for disobeying Dartz, but Yugi's vision proves that he might have other intentions involving Yami and Ryou.

Powers:

Mokuba: able to breathe under water.

Seto: freeze, slow down, speed up, go back or forward in time.

Jonouchi: telekinesis, also able to fly.

Shizuka: transformation

Yami: super strength

Yugi: clairvoyance/foresight (able to see the future)

Ryou: mind control, telepath, and healing powers

Bakura: super speed

Malik: transportation

Marik: elementlist

"speaking"

'thoughts'

_memories/Mokuba's journal_

_**Yugi's visions**_

Shrouded in Shadows: Secrets of the Ten

Chapter 2

Pain and Punishment

Yami and Ryou walked quietly into the common room. Only the children and Dartz were allowed in the common room, though Dartz had never stepped foot into it unless a new child was brought in. It was sort of like a hideaway for them. It was a circular door, six doors in all; one leading out into the hall, five other to their rooms. Everyone shared a room with their sibling. The cream colored walls were decorated with paintings, sometimes seeming sinister or comforting, all depending on the light coming from the crystal chandler that hung above their heads. There were bookshelves lining the walls as well. Dartz had decided to give them their own small library since they kept sneaking out to the main one and no punishment they received seemed to change that.

Bakura just raised an eyebrow as Ryou sat down beside him and opened a book he had been reading the night before. "So," he said carelessly. "You have fun?"

Ryou blushed as Yami chucked the piece of wood he had been carving into at Bakura's head. "What was that for!" Bakura yelled at him rubbing the sore spot on his head.

"So you always have to be such a pervert?" Yami glared at him.

"Yes," Bakura said simply. "Yes I do."

Yugi suddenly spoke up before a fight could start. "Ryou, play something for us!"

Ryou, at seeing pleading eyes from Yugi and Malik, agreed. They had found out that Ryou could control people's minds through his music without causing harm to himself, which would usually happen if he tried to control more than one person or controlled someone for too long of a time.

Yugi sighed in relief as Yami and Bakura seemed to settle down. The tension in the room disappeared with the first few notes from the harp, just like it always did. Yugi knew that Yami and Bakura would have definitely killed each other by now if it wasn't for Ryou's powers.

The smaller albino stopped playing when knocking interrupted his song. "Marik," he said softly, remembering this morning. "I think that's for you."

Marik just shrugged his shoulders before getting up and opening the door. The guard told him that Dartz had summoned him, but Marik was already whistling as he walked down the hall.

OOOOO

Dartz glared at Marik as he casually walked into the throne room, not even bothering to let the guard announce his presence. 'And whistling as well!' Dartz thought angrily.

"So what's the punishment this time?" Dartz asked, sounding as if he was commenting on the weather.

And evil smile slowly crossed Dartz's face as he motioned to two of the guards. Before Marik knew what was happening the guards had forced him onto his knees. He heard the footsteps of another as he came up behind the Egyptian. He heard the creak of a whip and stiffened. Dartz had never before given any of the children a physical punishment before. Most of the time they were just locked in the common room or forced to help the servants.

"I think twenty lashes will be fine, Keith," Dartz said to the man behind Marik.

Fear flashed in Marik's eyes, but only for a second, and thankfully Dartz didn't see it. Keith was the general of Dartz's armies. He was drunk with a bad temper, and not to mention a sexual appetite as big as his ego. Marik didn't like this man at all, especially when he decided he wanted to go after Malik, Ryou, and Yugi.

Keith smiled as he raised the whip and brought it crashing down on Marik's back, but the Egyptian stayed silent. He refused to let them hear him scream.

OOOOO

Yugi sat up in bed breathing heavily. He threw the covers off and ran into the common room where Yami, Bakura, Seto, and Jou were. They had all decided to wait for Marik to come back while insisting that their younger siblings get some sleep.

"Yugi, what's wrong?" Yami asked when he saw his brother. There was fear and worry in the younger one's eyes as he looked at his brother.

"You have to wake Ryou up so he can heal Marik."

"What do you mean?" Bakura asked.

"Did you have a vision, Yugi?" Seto asked in his normal, emotionless voice.

"Yeah," Yugi answered quietly. Yami and Jou had come over to him by now.

"Yugi, sit down and tell us what happened," Yami said as he led his brother over to one of the many chairs that were scattered through out the room.

Yugi nodded before telling the four what he had seen.

_**Keith brought the whip down again and again. Marik bit his lip to keep from crying out. They had long since passed twenty lashes. Now, Dartz just wanted to hear him scream. **_

"_**All you have to do is scream, Marik, and then it will all be over," Dartz said sweetly, yet at the same time it sounded evil. "Your pride is not worth dying over."**_

"_**Only for you its not. You can't kill me because you still need my powers," Marik growled as he glared at the silver haired ruler. Blood was dripping from his lip and nose from when Keith had punched his earlier. **_

_**Dartz just glared at him before nodding to Keith, who in turn grinned as he kicked the Egyptian in the stomach, a creaking sound singling that he had broken some of Marik's ribs. Marik only growled to cover the scream. And then, Keith kicked him again, aiming for his already broken ribs. Marik gasped as the pain blinded him for a second.**_

"_**That's enough Keith, we shall continue with this tomorrow night. I still want him to give a message to Yami."**_

"And that was it. I don't know what message Dartz wanted to give, but I know it can't be good." Yugi sighed as he finished. He had hated watching Marik in that much pain, and Yugi knew how much pain he was in because he had felt it all during his vision.

Bakura growled in anger and frustration. Dartz had already had them locked in for the night. Every night and ten he would order their doors to be locked so they could only be opened from the outside. The doors also had special charms on them so that their powers were useless against them. While they could still use their powers in the common room, they could not use their powers on the door.

"The albino finally stood. "I'll go get Ryou," he said softly, but his voice was full of anger and hate.

A few minutes later Bakura reemerged from his room with a sleepy Ryou close behind. "What's going on?" he asked, trying not to yawn.

Before anyone could answer the doors were thrown open and Marik was thrown inside, blood already pooling around him.

OOOOO

So, this is where I leave you for now. Sorry it's so short, but I thought that would be a good place to end it. Next chapter will be Dartz's message for Yami, and a few of Ryou's darkest secrets are reveled when Seto uses his powers to go back in time. Remember, if you want the side story next chapter I need at least seven reviews for this chapter. So please, review.


	3. Heartbreak, Tears, and a New Alliance

Hi everyone Sorry it took me so long to update, but there will be a bonus story at the end of this since I got more than seven reviews for the last chapter. I hope you like it. Also, I'll add another bonus story in the next chapter if I get at least ten reviews.

Summary: Chapter 3 Marik delivers Dartz's message and things begin to fall apart. Also, Seto discovers a disturbing secret, reveling what Keith is really doing at the Castle. And then we also have the prisoner...

Powers:

Mokuba: able to breathe under water.

Seto: freeze, slow down, speed up, go back or forward in time.

Jonouchi: telekinesis, also able to fly.

Shizuka: transformation

Yami: super strength

Yugi: clairvoyance/foresight (able to see the future)

Ryou: mind control, telepath, and healing powers

Bakura: super speed

Malik: transportation

Marik: elementlist

"speaking"

'thoughts'

_memories/Mokuba's journal_

_**Yugi's visions**_

Shrouded in Shadows: Secrets of the Ten

Chapter 3

Heartbreak, Tears, and a New Alliance

_What happened next was horrible. Dartz just had to continue to torture us, not to mention Keith. We really didn't think he'd be a problem, not until my brother accidently discovered one of the most horrifying things ever. For Ryou's sake I am reluctant to write this, but everything about Dartz's cruelty must be told._

_I remember wishing that day for us to have never been born. It seemed as if death was the only way out of our nightmare, but Dartz would not allow us to die. I wished Seto would just go back in time and stop us all from being born, that way Dartz would have died without his powers and wouldn't be able to harm anyone ever again, but that was not to be. As much as I wanted to die that day somehow things would get worse. _

Marik's eyes blinked open to be greeted with his friends' worried faces. He felt a bit stiff but besides that there wasn't much pain, letting him know that Ryou had used his healing powers.

"Thanks Ryou," he mumbled as he sat up. They had placed him on one of the couches, never even thinking of leaving him on the floor where the guards had left him.

"Are you all right, Marik?" Ryou asked, worried eyes meeting the Egyptian's own.

"Fine Ryou. Your healing powers work wonders." Ryou smiled, blushing somewhat before a yawn he'd been trying to suppress finally came out.

Bakura smiled gently at his little brother before taking his arm and leading him back to their room. It wasn't long before Ryou had fallen asleep again and the older albino came back into the common room.

"Marik, I had a vision of you getting beat up," Yugi said. "I heard Dartz say that he had a message for Yami. What was it?"

Marik wasn't shocked by this. He had actually been expecting Yugi to get a vision of his punishment. Yugi always had a vision when one of them got hurt. Marik hung his head and refused to look anyone in the eye, a bad sign they all knew.

"Marik, what is it?" Yami asked after awhile of waiting for the elementlist to speak.

"Dartz found out about you and Ryou." A tense and almost frightful silence came over the room at this. They had expected something bad, but not like that. "He wants you to break up with Ryou and you can't tell him that its because Dartz knows. If you don't he said that you would be forfeiting Ryou's innocent to him.

OOOOO

Yami shut his eyes as sunlight poured into the room. He hadn't slept at all. He had been wondering all night how he was suppose to break up with Ryou without hurting him. The answer: there was no way. But, it had to be done or else Dartz would rape his love.

"Yami."

Yami looked to his right to see Yugi sitting on his bed. The smaller of the two got up and walked over to his brother's bed. Yugi lay beside Yami, fully aware of the older's pain. "I'm sorry."

"Its not your fault Yugi. We just weren't careful enough and now there's nothing I can do about it but break Ryou's heart."

"Time to get up!" Mokuba shouted as he slammed their door open.

"Learn to knock Mokuba!" Yami shouted throwing a pillow at the black haired kid.

"Seto!" Mokuba called to his older brother, an evil grin of his face.

'Damn that kid's been around Marik and Bakura way too much,' Yami thought before he jumped out of bed and slammed the door closed. "You might as well get dressed since they know we're up now," Yami said before he noticed that Yugi was already half dressed and had laid his clothes out as well.

Yugi looked up after he pulled a shirt over his head. "Did you say something Yami?"

Yami just shook his head. "Never mind."

When both were dressed they headed out to the common room, Yami for once dreading having to face Ryou. Everyone else was already scattered around the room eating breakfast. Dartz never let them eat with the other nobles, always fearing that they would plot against him to take away the children if they knew about them.

"Here Yami." Yami looked up and his heart broke when he saw Ryou's smiling face.

"Uh, thanks," Yami said taking the plate of food Ryou offered before beginning to eat without another word.

Ryou was a bit hurt that Yami seemed to not want him around, but he figured that Yami probably just wanted sometime alone so he walked over and sat beside Bakura.

"Hey, where'd Seto go?" Jou asked, noticing that the brunet wasn't in the common room.

"He was practicing his powers and got stuck in one of his time warps, blackhole thingies," Malik commented.

"It's a rip in space," Mokuba, Ryou, Yugi, and Shizuka all said at the same time.

"Right, that."

OOOOO

Seto wondered around the swirling void of images. He didn't know why but he just felt like he had to go back in time for some reason. He wasn't powerful enough to actually throw himself back in time, just look back on images that had already passed. And then he saw it.

He had gone back about a week, the day after Dartz had left. He saw Ryou walking down one of the endless hallways. This wasn't unusual but the fact that Keith was following him was.

Keith caught up with the albino and dragged him into a room, hand firmly clasped over the boy's mouth. There was a sadistic grin on his face as he looked down at Ryou.

Seto noticed that the general had dragged the healer into one of the guest rooms, and he knew then and there whatever happened next was not going to be good.

"Hello little mind reader," Keith whispered as he leaned down, lips just hovering over Ryou's ear.

"Get away from me!" Ryou yelled pulling away from the sick blonde, but Keith just advanced on him, forcing him into falling over the bed.

Keith knelt over Ryou, pinning the boy's arms above his head and spreading his legs apart. "You really are beautiful," he whispered before roughly kissing Ryou's lips. He chuckled evilly as he pulled away. "And soon you'll be all mine."

"What the hell does that mean?" Ryou hissed.

"Simply, as soon as Dartz has no use for you anymore I get you as my slave. That's the only reason I became the general of the bastard's army."

Ryou let out a surprised gasp before managing to breath out, "Why? Why would you want me?"

"Because you're a gorgeous piece of ass, and I can't wait to fuck you."

Seto was disgusted by this. Did Dartz really think that they would just let him hand over Ryou to Keith so the bastard could do whatever he pleased with the mind reader? It wasn't going to happen.

"Since I've been waiting so long I've decided that I'm going to have some fun with you now."

Ryou's eyes widened and he struggled against the larger man, but was held down. "NO! GET OFF OF ME!" he screamed.

Keith slapped him across the face, hard. "Shut up or I'll get your little friend Yugi to do this, or maybe even that water brat Mokuba."

Seto growled. He was going to kill Keith, for threatening to hurt his brother and for what he was doing to Ryou. That man had just hope that Bakura and Yami didn't find out because getting all three of them mad was a very bad idea.

((EDITED: This parts been edited out and as soon as my computer stops begin evil I'll try to put it on or mediaminer. Just so you know, Keith doesn't rape Ryou, just had 'fun' with him. If you're not smart enough to figure out what I mean, then sorry because I'm not explaining in greater detail.))

OOOOO

Yami sighed as he sat down on one of the rocks surrounding a mini waterfall. This had been the place Yami had first told Ryou that he loved him and it seemed a bit cruel to ask Ryou to meet him here now, but he didn't know what else to do.

"Yami," Ryou said softly smiling at his love as he sat down beside him. Yami had been so deep in thought that he hadn't even noticed that Ryou had come up beside him. "Why did you want to meet me here?"

Yami sighed and turned away from the healer, unable to look him in the eye. "There's something I have to tell you."

Ryou tilted his head to one side cutely, making Yami hate himself even more for what he had to do. "What is it Yami?"

Yami sighed. 'Here goes nothing,' he thought and then forced the words he never wanted to say out of his mouth. "Ryou, I want to break up with you."

OOOOO

Mokuba and Malik were sneaking around the castle grounds. Something was going on and they wanted to find out. The guards were everywhere, not staying in their positions for very long, hurried gossip spreading throughout them.

The two finally got close enough to hear three of the guards. "Did you hear about the new prisoner yet?"

"All this fuss over a prisoner? That seems a bit pointless," Malik whispered but Mokuba ignored him, wanting to know what was so special about this man.

"All I know is that General Keith caught a spy," the one with blonde hair said.

The first one, who they knew to be named Yuri answered. "He's not just any spy. He's Otogi Ryuji, a spy from Kul Elna!"

"What!" the blonde gasped in shock. "I though the kingdom (1) of Kul Elna had been destroyed!"

"So did everyone else," answered the last solider, a red head.

"Yes," replied Yuri. "But this just proves that they're still alive, even if they've had to go into hiding this whole time."

"Who knows," the red head said. "Maybe they'll be able to finally overthrow Dartz."

"That would be nice," Yuri said as they began walking away. "But Otogi is going to be hung in four days, so there's not much chance of him getting an information back to Kul Elna."

Mokuba and Malik looked at each other in shock. Kul Elna...that had been where Bakura and Ryou's father had been from. Dartz had 'destroyed' it about fifteen years ago. But before their defeat, Kul Elna had been the only other kingdom that could stand up to Dartz's kingdom of Domino.

But now, Kul Elna was back and her people were ready for revenge.

OOOOO

1: Yes, Kul Elna is a kingdom in this and not a village. Sorry, but I needed another name for a kingdom and Kul Elna just fit, as you will find out latter in the story.

All right, now its time for the bonus story. I hope you all like. This takes place a year or so before the story begins but Yami and Ryou are already a couple.

OOOOO

Bonus story 1: Burning Marshmallows

Everyone sat around the small fire they had made. It was a nice summer night and Dartz's had actually agreed to let them have a bonfire. Though, with Bakura and Marik, the children were beginning to wonder if it would have been safer to just stay in the common room.

"And with that the handsome prince slew the dragon and saved the beautiful princess!" Marik shouted as he managed to disarm Bakura of the wooden stick he had been using in place of a sword. The two had been fighting around the fire and at times having Yami, Seto, or Jou scream at them to be more careful.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Bakura muttered as he sat down beside Ryou.

"Marik?" the younger albino asked.

"Whff?" Marik asked as he shoved a handful of marshmallow into his mouth.

"When did my brother become a dragon?"

Marik swallowed before grinning. "Why, my fair princess it was when I defeated him and saved you from his horrible grumpiness." Marik knelt in front of Ryou and taking one of the healer' hands in his own declared loudly. "Now that I have rescued you we may travel far from these people who think that I am insane and live happily ever after!"

Yami and Bakura both stood ready to pound Marik into the dirt. Yugi just shook his head. Marik always did this to get the other two mad, but if it wasn't for Ryou, oh the pain the blonde Egyptian would be in.

"Marik," Ryou said before Yami or Bakura could do anything. "I'm one of those people who thinks you're crazy."

Jou laughed, marshmallows that he had been holding dropping into the fire.

"Hey! You're ruining perfectly good marshmallows!" Mokuba cried grabbing a stick and stabbing the end into one of the marshmallows. It was throughly burnt but the raven haired child just shrugged and popped it into his mouth. "Too bad we don't have chocolate or grad crackers."

"Doesn't matter, burnt marshmallows taste good no matter what," Bakura said grabbing a stick and stabbing five of the marshmallows onto it before sticking them all in the fire.

After everyone had had their fill of burnt marshmallows Marik decided to throw his last one at Bakura, and Bakura begin Bakura, flung even more burnt marshmallows at the Egyptian.

Soon Jou, Mokuba, Malik, Yugi, and even Shizuka were all throwing burning marshmallows at each other. Seto refused to join in as he put it 'such childish behavior', but come on, throwing marshmallows at people is childish, but not to mention fun.

Yami just smiled and shook his head at the 'marshmallow war' as it had been dubbed, a gentle arm wrapped securely around a sleeping Ryou.

That morning when the guards came out they found the front lawn completely trashed, marshmallow in everything. When Dartz came out to investigate a large pile of the gloppy mess that had been stuck in the tree decided it was going to come down...right on Dartz's head.

OOOOO

There it is. Hope you all enjoyed and hopefully the next chapter will be up faster than this one was.


	4. apology

We've been having problems with Avalon's account so we are moving all her stories over to a new account under the name Chronos Kitsune. This account belongs to Avalon's cousin who will be taking over writing her stories, although, some will be discontinued. As to which ones these are Child of Shadows and I have left that up to Chronos. We are very sorry it has taken us so long to organize everything, but we hope you will continue to read her stories under the new account.

With sincerest apologizes

Dragon of Dreams


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